Private sector development practitioners are increasingly understanding markets as systems, complex networks of people, organisations, actions and interactions. Rather than directly providing services, they argue that they need to target changes in structure or dynamics of the system in order to improve the ability of the poor to participate and benefit. This is known as systemic change.

But what exactly is systemic change? How do we know if we have achieved it or not? How can we develop a results measurement system to monitor progress towards systemic change, and provide useful feedback to enable us to modify programme strategies if necessary?